DavidB wrote:I wonder though, why it is that when we all already know this about language and verbal communication,
I can't speak for others, but I wasn't referring to language and verbal communication, but to thought.
If we see that the conflict we are hoping to avoid is built in to fabric of thought itself then a search for the one true philosophy, understanding, explanation etc is essentially over. It continues perhaps only as a kind of fun card game.
When Eckhart understands this, he will stop writing books. When we understand it, we will stop reading such books. Maybe that's why people keep trying to point this out, as it has huge implications for activities we've grown very fond of?
It's that addictive fondness which keeps Baba Bozo engaged in a typoholic activity which he knows to be essentially meaningless, well, beyond it's entertainment value. Again, a sense of humor about one's very human self contradictory predicaments is advised.
Philosophies and books etc presume that there is some set of ideas which will lead to peace. This might be true if the problem we are addressing was a function of bad ideas, which could be replaced with good ideas.
But if conflict arises from the inherently divisive nature of thought itself, then all ideas will lead to conflict. See? Yes, New Age ideas too.
A huge pile of evidence suggests this to be true, as every ideology ever invented appears to come to conflict with other ideologies, and even with itself as the ideology divides in to competing internal factions.
People typically try to sweep this conflict under the rug and pretend it doesn't exist by gathering in groups where everybody agrees with them. But this too never works for long, as every group built around any idea inevitably divides in to competing factions.
As example, if conflict in the ocean arises from particular bad fish, then if those particular fish were replaced with nicer fish, a solution to conflict could be found. But if the conflict arises from the water all the fish are mostly made of then...
Whole different story.
The fish can not live without water. It is who they are, their inescapable "what is". Thus, their only option is to make peace with conflict. Manage it, yes. But end it, no, impossible.
There is no food we can eat which will end our physical hunger forever. All we can hope to accomplish is to make peace with the routine of managing our physical hunger. All we can do is get a job, make some money, go to the store, buy the food, cook the food, eat the food, day after day after day for all our lives.
Thus, when we are dealing with our physical hunger, we never see ourselves as being on a path, because we know we are never going to go anywhere different except in death. Seeing this clearly, we are realistic, and make peace with the need to manage our hunger every day of our lives.
If we see that inner and outer conflict arises from thought itself, and that thought is an inescapable requirement of human life, then we see that managing psychic hunger is exactly like managing physical hunger. It's just a routine maintenance job, not a glorious path up the holy mountain, and all of that.
They don’t realize what they are looking for is on the formless level, and they’re seeking it on the level of form and that leads to the frustration of human existence.
Yes, what we're really looking for is the formless, the void, death. It will come soon enough, surprisingly soon. There's really no need to rush it, the peace we seek is guaranteed, just not RIGHT NOW, that's all.
So the important thing to realize is the world is not here to make me happy. When you don’t demand that the situation, or place, or person should make you happy, then actually the situation, place, or person is quite satisfying. - Eckhart Tolle
And then sooner or later you will have to return to thought, and once again pay the price tag for having access to that powerful tool.
There is no clever trick which can avoid that price tag. The whole New Age realm is built upon a search for the trick which can avoid the price tag, but it doesn't exist.
Again, I don't mean to pick on Tolle who seems to be a nice fellow and surely a very gifted writer, but....
Tolle clearly has a need for money, power and fame.
This isn't a crime or a scandal, the fellow is human that's all. And I point out his needs out only to remind us that even the most gifted among us still must pay the price tag for using thought.
Even Tolle must eat food. Day after day.
Even Tolle must go to the bathroom. Day after day.
Even Tolle must think. Day after day.
Even Tolle must pay the price tag of thinking. Day after day.
